The walls of Arches Brewing in Hapeville are about to get a whole lot leggier. Octopi Hapeville, an art show exhibiting the works of close to 40 artists, will debut at the brewery on Friday, May 12. The exhibition is curated by Decatur artist Larry Holland and coordinated by Thomas Schaefer of Arches Brewing. Holland has been a long-time contributor to the local art scene and is the creative force behind much of the public art on display throughout Decatur.
Participants of the Octopi Hapeville show were invited to paint a wooden octopus for the exhibition in the style of their choosing. He commissioned local fabricator Zach Consortie of Diamondback Art Surfaces to create 40 large octopi measuring 24×20” and an additional 40 smaller octopi measuring closer to 12×10”. The blanks are cut from quarter inch baltic birch, a wood that Holland described as both easy to paint and unlikely to splinter or crack.
I had to ask, why an octopus? “The story I tell is that when I was little I wanted to be Jacques Cousteau the oceanographer, and that did not happen,” said Holland with a laugh. “So maybe this is a carry-over from that.” He described the octopus as amazing, shapeshifting, super smart, and akin to aliens, all of which he finds to be inspiring.
Originally from Boston, Holland moved to Atlanta in 1992 and rediscovered his love for art here. “I kind of dabbled a little bit here and there but I wasn’t steadily doing it, and I kind of stopped when I left Boston. I went to art school for a year up there at the Museum of Fine Art College, and a friend of mine was living down here and looking for a roommate. His brother and I jumped on a greyhound and I’m still here,” recalled Holland.
Holland was an early adopter of the Free Art Friday trend which gained popularity in Atlanta around 2010. In those days Holland developed a series of woodcut shapes that he transformed into mixed media works and then hid around the city. On Fridays, art lovers would go on social media and follow the hashtag #FAFATL to find free art which artists had hidden around the city creating a sort of art scavenger hunt. Holland’s designs were often in the shape of stars and, you guessed it, octopi.
In the years since, Holland has continued to engage with the arts through participation and later leading community sourced art installations and events. You can see the efforts of his work when you drive through Decatur and catch a glimpse of a #lookupdecatur post. The Decatur Arts Alliance describes this project as “a city-wide art installation that encourages us to look up from our screens, engage with the world, and find art in unexpected places.”
Inspiration struck for #lookupdecatur in 2016 when Holland had the idea to tack up quotes from books for the Decatur Book Festival. He decided to put artwork up instead. After the works are retired from the street posts they are exhibited and sold at the Decatur Arts Alliance Gallery.
In addition to being a devoted father to his two daughters and an electrician by trade, Holland is also responsible for art endeavors including the Decatur Box Project, Secret Doors Decatur, #gawrites, Animal Xings, and Octopi Decatur. He continues to be an active supporter and proponent of the arts in his community through art activations and events. When he became friends with Schaefer who handles the art exhibitions at Arches Brewing he set his sights on having an Octopi show there. Arches Brewing has a reputation for fine art which further cements the city of Hapeville as a recognized center for culture and the arts.
Octopi Hapeville will open on May 12 from 6-10 p.m. and the reception will feature a DJ, delicious brews, and a large octopus that visitors can doodle on. All proceeds from the art sale directly benefit the artists, and those who RSVP through the Arches Brewing website can get 15% off their tab for the night.